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xrisnothing
12-14-2007, 01:15
To those of you who have thru-hiked with a dog, what did you did with your dog when crossing through one of the three restricted areas? Did you ignore the signs/rangers? Did you somehow send your dog on ahead? I am considering a trip by myself, but I need some canine companionship. How do you thru-hike a trail where dogs are restricted for a portion without breaking the rules?

Roots
12-14-2007, 02:36
I would talk to Doggiebag about this subject. He and his dog Aldo just got off the trail in November. He would probably know a lot about this. :)

Tha Wookie
12-14-2007, 02:53
To those of you who have thru-hiked with a dog, what did you did with your dog when crossing through one of the three restricted areas? Did you ignore the signs/rangers? Did you somehow send your dog on ahead? I am considering a trip by myself, but I need some canine companionship. How do you thru-hike a trail where dogs are restricted for a portion without breaking the rules?

There are some doggie transport kennel services. I think you can find their numbers in the ALDHA handbook, or probably google. Ain't cheap.

Appalachian Tater
12-14-2007, 09:01
Enjoy your hike!

cowboy nichols
12-14-2007, 14:33
there are no pets alowed in G>S>M>N>P> the fine is $5000.00 There is the loving Care Kennels 865-453-2028 one dog $250.00 two $350.00 These were 2006 fees they may have changed. The Rippling Water Kennel 828-488-2091. do not ignore the rules. I lucked out and had friends offer to take my dog and meet me on the N side.

JAK
12-14-2007, 16:13
oops. that was the wrong thread.

How many dogs have completed a thru-hike?

emerald
12-14-2007, 17:47
I believe the correct answer would be none. Dogs are also prohibited from Baxter State Park.

Those who want to hike with a dog should visit ATC's site for information and advice.

There's no shortage of information about dogs on the A.T. here and many opinions too.:D

JAK
12-14-2007, 17:55
Hmmm. Any 2000 milers?

emerald
12-14-2007, 18:07
I believe your answer is still no.

Maybe one or more dogs thru-hiked the A.T. if the word is defined loosely.

The Old Fhart
12-14-2007, 18:14
JAK-"How many dogs have completed a thru-hike?"Actually services dogs (like Orient or Tucker?) can complete the trail with their masters.

superman
12-14-2007, 18:21
When you get to Fontana Dam you call one of the kennels listed in the companion. It used to cost $250. When you get to Mountain Mommas you call the keenel and they bring your dog to you.

When you get to Abol bridge there used to be a woman who would watch your dog while you summit. Or you will have made friends by then who may watch your dog for you. Since you will need transportation home at that point, who ever is picking you up can watch your dog.

Many people have hiked the AT with their dog. To me those were the minor issues. The big issue to me is training your dog for the trail and doing a good shake down hike to assure that the dog is up to it. You can read Moongoat's journal from this year.

Enjoy

Nearly Normal
12-15-2007, 01:57
Didn't someone say Mountain Moma's was closed?

Appalachian Tater
12-15-2007, 02:32
Didn't someone say Mountain Moma's was closed?

Yes, and the building, an old school, is now someone's house.

Crawbear
12-15-2007, 08:43
Hmmm. Any 2000 milers?

I know of at least one instance where a guide dog completed the entire trail with his blind thru-hiker owner. You can imagine how jealous the other dogs are. He's a god among dogs.

Crawbear
12-15-2007, 08:51
Many people have hiked the AT with their dog. To me those were the minor issues. The big issue to me is training your dog for the trail and doing a good shake down hike to assure that the dog is up to it. You can read Moongoat's journal from this year.

Enjoy

I agree, also many people with dogs do not take into consideration the Leave No Trace principle, "Be considerate of others." If your dog is not good around other hikers and dogs, it's probably a good idea to wait until he's properly trained. I encountered some incredibly well-trained dogs on the trail, and I also encountered many who shouldn't have been out there. Think about the well-being of everyone on the trail, and what it's like to have someone's dog run up to you snarling and barking. Just my two cents.

xrisnothing
12-15-2007, 19:15
I wouldn't even consider bringing my dog, were she not extremely obedient and well trained. She loves to hike and I never let her off of her leash. I do this for her own safety. She is very well behaved. I have no use for an untrained dog and I don't understand how others can stand a dog that does not listen. I have no doubts about her training and socialization.

I don't understand how bringing a dog can interfere with LNT. I don't let her chase wildlife. Like I said, she never goes off leash anyway. The dog isn't bringing trash into the woods, starting fires or setting up camps.

She is a dachshund and would be sleeping with me every night. I read elsewhere about a well-behaved dachshund on the AT. I believe she could definitely keep up with me, given proper care and checking. Dogs are supposed to be man's best friend. My dog is well trained because she is my best friend and I work with her daily. As for the small size, anyone who has owned a dachshund can tell you that they are one of the toughest small breeds around. They're bred for hunting after all.

SGT Rock
12-15-2007, 19:40
One of the thru-hike books I read (I can't remember the title, it wasn't a very good one) the couple started with a dog but ended up sending him home because he was too much trouble, as I recall he got shot with bird shot at one point. I'll try to find it, but it probably isn't what you are looking for since you want an example of how to be successful as opposed to how not to be.

emerald
12-15-2007, 19:48
I don't understand how bringing a dog can interfere with LNT. I don't let her chase wildlife. Like I said, she never goes off leash anyway. The dog isn't bringing trash into the woods, starting fires or setting up camps.

She is a dachshund and would be sleeping with me every night. I read elsewhere about a well-behaved dachshund on the AT. I believe she could definitely keep up with me, given proper care and checking. Dogs are supposed to be man's best friend. My dog is well trained because she is my best friend and I work with her daily. As for the small size, anyone who has owned a dachshund can tell you that they are one of the toughest small breeds around. They're bred for hunting after all.

It's a clearance thing, man, like driving a low-rider off-road.:rolleyes: The trail clubs in Pennsylvania don't like you dulling their pointy rocks and they've got a belsnickle behind every tree.:eek:

superman
12-15-2007, 20:00
One of the thru-hike books I read (I can't remember the title, it wasn't a very good one) the couple started with a dog but ended up sending him home because he was too much trouble, as I recall he got shot with bird shot at one point. I'll try to find it, but it probably isn't what you are looking for since you want an example of how to be successful as opposed to how not to be.

There are tons of examples of what you refer to...and they are valid. Each person who attaches his or her hike to another person or to a dog probably cuts his chance of completing a thru hike by half before one-step is taken. I'm not anti-hiking with someone else or your dog. There are many reasons to leave the trail. If you start with only a 20% chance of success and your friend or your dog has only 20% chance of success and your success is tied to the others success the odds are against you big time.

emerald
12-15-2007, 21:08
A random dog probably has less than 20. Some hikers have more, but that's another thread.

superman
12-15-2007, 21:14
A random dog probably has less than 20. Some hikers have more, but that's another thread.
I agree with you. I was just saying that when you tie your success of thru hiking to a dog or another person it reduces your chances more than if you only hiked alone.

emerald
12-15-2007, 21:29
I wouldn't want you to think we disagree when we don't. It's more complicated to hike with someone else, but there is also an upside sometimes.

Those who can see the upside can nurture it and find ways to work around the downside. Sorting that out could be difficult when your partner is a dog.

Maybe we've touched upon something that would be a worthwhile topic to pursue in another thread. I'll start one and link it.

It's called Some hikers better than a 20% chance? (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=474308#post474308) Click on the title to go there if you want to participate.

Appalachian Tater
12-16-2007, 03:10
If the probability of a dog completing a thru-hike is 20% and the probablility of a human completing a thru-hike is 20%, then the probability that both would complete the thru-hike is 4%.

The Mechanical Man
12-16-2007, 03:27
When you choose to hike with your dog, it's your dog's hike, :sun and your job to take care of your DOG on the hike.

superman
12-16-2007, 08:46
If the probability of a dog completing a thru-hike is 20% and the probablility of a human completing a thru-hike is 20%, then the probability that both would complete the thru-hike is 4%.

Yes, that sounds about right to me. If you do the same math with a hiking partner that your hike depends on the math comes out the same. From a practicle stand point then there are all those variables that make some succeed and some not. I think all I was trying to get at was if you bring your dog you need to improve the odds of completion the best you can in advance of your hike. I did it but Winter made everything look easy. Maybe she made it look easy because I spent the previous year (1999)training her for the trail?

Appalachian Tater
12-16-2007, 11:57
Yes, that sounds about right to me. If you do the same math with a hiking partner that your hike depends on the math comes out the same.

No, I thought about this more. You have a 20% chance of finishing without your dog or a partner, a partner has a 20% chance of finishing without you, but a dog has 0% chance of finishing without a human so his chance is only 4%--the odds both of you will finish. You could still finish alone, without your dog, with a 20% chance. The odds of two humans AND a dog all finishing are 0.8%, less than 1%. The odds of ONE of the two humans AND the dog finishing are 8%.

Besides, a non-service dog can't even thru-hike, can't summit Katahdin or even enter Baxter, among other places.

superman
12-16-2007, 12:33
Plus you could kill and eat the dog thus increasing your odds of completion but if you do that to a human people get all huffy.:-?

emerald
12-16-2007, 12:48
I once took a course in statistics. What I remember and am reminded of today is my professor saying early in the course that improbable events happen every day.

SGT Rock
12-16-2007, 13:41
Maybe the trail runs on finite amounts of infinite improbability.

Hooch
12-16-2007, 13:44
Plus you could kill and eat the dog thus increasing your odds of completion but if you do that to a human people get all huffy.:-?Oh crap, I can't stop laughing. Ouch!

SunnyWalker
01-18-2008, 21:01
I think when you try to thru hike with a dog the hike is then all about the dog. The hike ends up centering around the dog. A Hostel owner described it to me this way last summer near Woody Gap. Everything you do has to take into consideration the dog. I mean everything. Some examples, when you go to a grocery store you have to tie the dog up outside, same with restaurants. Some stores don't want your dog outside. And I could go on. The main thing for me was if I took my dog along it would take away my "freedom" or "independence" so to speak. The idea of setting off with a pack for the At, just me, no one else, no other responsibility-it is so appealing that I know I will not take a dog with me. -SunnyWalker

Nest
01-18-2008, 21:22
I think when you try to thru hike with a dog the hike is then all about the dog. The hike ends up centering around the dog. A Hostel owner described it to me this way last summer near Woody Gap. Everything you do has to take into consideration the dog. I mean everything. Some examples, when you go to a grocery store you have to tie the dog up outside, same with restaurants. Some stores don't want your dog outside. And I could go on. The main thing for me was if I took my dog along it would take away my "freedom" or "independence" so to speak. The idea of setting off with a pack for the At, just me, no one else, no other responsibility-it is so appealing that I know I will not take a dog with me. -SunnyWalker

There is also another way to look at it. All of my friends are gone, so my dog is the only friend I really have left. We have been best friends for 4 years. We have been together so much that we can read eachother. I know what he is thinking, and he knows what I am thinking. I wouldn't want to be on a journey without him. I know it will be hard at times. There will be some places I can't go. It will cost more to get a motel that allows for town stops when hostels won't allow him. That's fine. He's my best friend. So we stick together. If I didn't take him because he would be a burdon, then I don't deserve him. Just my opnion.

shelterbuilder
01-18-2008, 22:16
To say that the hike would be THE DOG'S hike is, I think, a bit overstated. (No, I haven't thru-hiked, but I have done long section hikes with a dog - or dogs - along for the walk.) But you do have to make certain consessions on the dog's behalf - like at grocery stores, hostels, etc. But if you've made the decision to bring along your best friend, then you KNOW this going into the hike, and have already given these things some thought beforehand.

I remember meeting Bill Irwin and Orient when they came through Eckville - they were BOTH pretty-well beaten-up from the walk. (Remember, Orient was a German Shepherd with typically long legs and large paws - when they got to Eckville, all Orient wanted to do was sleep.) Trying to do a thru-hike with a dog will push your best friend to his limits, so plan extra calories and extra zero days. Cerberus, don't neglect the dog's protein intake (we've talked about adding fat to his food, but make sure that he's getting enough protein so that his muscles don't suffer, too).

Beyond all of the planning, once you start out, ENJOY the trip. It'll be a different trip with the dog, but I know that it'll be special because of him.

Nest
01-18-2008, 22:30
To say that the hike would be THE DOG'S hike is, I think, a bit overstated. (No, I haven't thru-hiked, but I have done long section hikes with a dog - or dogs - along for the walk.) But you do have to make certain consessions on the dog's behalf - like at grocery stores, hostels, etc. But if you've made the decision to bring along your best friend, then you KNOW this going into the hike, and have already given these things some thought beforehand.

I remember meeting Bill Irwin and Orient when they came through Eckville - they were BOTH pretty-well beaten-up from the walk. (Remember, Orient was a German Shepherd with typically long legs and large paws - when they got to Eckville, all Orient wanted to do was sleep.) Trying to do a thru-hike with a dog will push your best friend to his limits, so plan extra calories and extra zero days. Cerberus, don't neglect the dog's protein intake (we've talked about adding fat to his food, but make sure that he's getting enough protein so that his muscles don't suffer, too).

Beyond all of the planning, once you start out, ENJOY the trip. It'll be a different trip with the dog, but I know that it'll be special because of him.


Yeah, I got him a high protein food. It has 42% protein, 22% fat, and a little over 500 calories a cup.

Heater
01-19-2008, 00:00
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/NightHawkZone/Emoticons/popcorn.gif

minnesotasmith
01-19-2008, 00:55
I wouldn't even consider bringing my dog, were she not extremely obedient and well trained. She loves to hike and I never let her off of her leash. I do this for her own safety. She is very well behaved. I have no use for an untrained dog and I don't understand how others can stand a dog that does not listen. I have no doubts about her training and socialization.

I don't understand how bringing a dog can interfere with LNT. I don't let her chase wildlife. Like I said, she never goes off leash anyway. The dog isn't bringing trash into the woods, starting fires or setting up camps.

She is a dachshund and would be sleeping with me every night. I read elsewhere about a well-behaved dachshund on the AT. I believe she could definitely keep up with me, given proper care and checking. Dogs are supposed to be man's best friend. My dog is well trained because she is my best friend and I work with her daily. As for the small size, anyone who has owned a dachshund can tell you that they are one of the toughest small breeds around. They're bred for hunting after all.


Please, please make a video. It's be quite a sight to see a dog with 5" legs on South Kinsman or North Carter, especially on wet or icy days.

Heater
01-19-2008, 02:41
Please, please make a video. It's be quite a sight to see a dog with 5" legs on South Kinsman or North Carter, especially on wet or icy days.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a191/NightHawkZone/Emoticons/popcorn.gif

Butterflymoon
01-19-2008, 07:54
Yeah, I got him a high protein food. It has 42% protein, 22% fat, and a little over 500 calories a cup.


What brand of food? I would love sugestions.... currently using high protein nutro max

Nest
01-19-2008, 19:31
What brand of food? I would love sugestions.... currently using high protein nutro max

Pinnacle. Called something like the Pinnacle High Protein. Another good brand that I couldn't get ahold of was Royal Canin Energy 4800. Then Evo is also high in protein, but I didn't think it had enough calories.

Jim Adams
01-20-2008, 02:33
I believe the correct answer would be none.


one...Orient of the Orient Express, 1990.

geek

shelterbuilder
01-20-2008, 09:47
one...Orient of the Orient Express, 1990.

geek

...and only because he was a service dog. If there were more handicapped hikers using service dogs, this would be less of a rarity. (Wouldn't THAT give the Park Rangers fits!):D

atrerunner
01-20-2008, 11:55
Much info, and many links are found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Traildog/

Machine
01-20-2008, 12:20
To those of you who have thru-hiked with a dog, what did you did with your dog when crossing through one of the three restricted areas? Did you ignore the signs/rangers? Did you somehow send your dog on ahead? I am considering a trip by myself, but I need some canine companionship. How do you thru-hike a trail where dogs are restricted for a portion without breaking the rules?

My last thru-hike was with a friend and her two dogs and we all had a blast. By far my most enjoyable thru-hike.

If your dog is properly trained for the trail, then I'd say go for it. There is a little more work involved but it is well worth the effort.

She had friends in the south who took the dogs while we cleared the Smokys, and a local helped us out at Baxter State Park.

Good luck!

SunnyWalker
05-02-2008, 22:52
I guess if one planned and as a dog owner was willing to "pay the price" to take a dog with you it would be real fun. I have been reading some of these posts and threads about taking dogs along and it sounds like it might be fun. Althogh, it would cut down on my "freedom" so to speak as I said before, earlier. But it might be a real blast. Some dogs are real characters and entertaining. I have never met a hiker with a dog where the dog was not real friendly. I never had one get in my tent or eat my food, etc. I wonder about the complaints, maybe exagerated??

sofaking
05-02-2008, 23:20
weiner dogs on the trail...sigh...gary larson would be proud.